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The
wines of Prinz von Hessen
Royal Rheingau producer,
Germany
The Prinz' Hasensprung vineyard, Rheingau
Website: www.prinz-von-hessen.de
Over a relaxed dinner in London, I met
with Donatus Prinz von Hessen and Lenz Moser. We had a wide-ranging
discussion and tried The prince’s wines. Although he is genuinely
royal (and 436th in line to the British throne), he’s a very
engaging, down-to-earth guy. And his wines are great.
This family estate was going through a
slightly difficult phase in 2005 when Donatus took charge. ‘I’d
worked on it before with little success,’ he recalls. ‘The
family had to decide whether to get rid of the property or turn it
around. We decided to change everything. I substituted the whole
team and got rid of 30% of the vineyards.’ Now the estate is down
to 35 hectares, with 70% of these first-growth sites (Erstes Gewächs).
Donatus Prinz von Hessen
The focus is now on mainly dry-styled
wines from the Riesling variety. There’s a single vineyard,
representing 2% of production, made in a fruity style, but the rest
is dry. There’s a special emphasis on Kabinett. ‘Honest Kabinett
encompases the style of the Rheingau,’ says Donatus.
Lenz’ role is to look after sales and
marketing globally. Winemaking at the estate is in the hands of
Clemens Keifer, with Herman Mengler, the state enologist in Franken
helping out in the vineyards and winemaking.
Prinz von Hessen Riesling Kabinett
Trocken 2008 Rheingau
11.5% alcohol. Very fresh and bright with lovely lemon and lime
fruit. Crisp with some fresh minerality with precision and good
acidity. Linear and pure. 89/100
Prinz von Hessen Johannisberger Klaus
Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2008 Rheingau
11.5% alcohol. Amazingly fresh, complex, minerally and tight
with precise lemony fruit and high acidity. Lovely focus here: no
clumsiness at all. 91/100
Prinz von Hessen Dachsfilet Riesling
2008 Rheingau
12% alcohol. From the Badgers’ mountain, Dachsberg, this is
made like a red wine, with fermentation of skins until 40% of the
sugar has been used, and then pressing. Wonderfully textured with a
hint of sweetness to the intense, minerally, spicy limey fruit.
There are some richer, tropical notes, too. Brilliant precision and
nice tension between the richness and minerality. 93/100
Prinz von Hessen Winkeler
Jesuitengarten Riesling Erstes Gewächs 2005 Rheingau
12.5% alcohol. This is from a warm year, and the winemaking
style has also changed a bit since then. It’s quite rich and
lemony with some honeyed richness and some creaminess. The palate is
nicely textured with generous honeyed, lemony fruit as well as some
melon notes. 90/100
Prinz von Hessen Winkeler Jesuitengarten Riesling Erstes Gewächs
2007 Rheingau
13.5% alcohol. Quite rich and intense with lovely bright focused
lemony fruit and some melon richness. The palate has good intensity,
richness and spiciness. Fresher than the 2005. 92/100
Prinz von Hessen Winkeler
Jesuitengarten Riesling Erstes Gewächs 2008 Rheingau
13% alcohol. Very fresh, bright and lemony with a lovely
minerally character. Very bright with lemon fruit and a hint of
melony richness. Real precision and focus. 92/100
Prinz von Hessen Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Erstes Gewächs
2008 Rheingau
Wonderfully precise focused minerality on the nose with some
lemony fruit. The palate is dry and precise with grapefruit and
lemon character as well as a hint of richness and some lovely
minerality. Brilliant effort. 91/100
Prinz von Hessen Winkeler Hasensprung
Riesling Erstes Gewächs 2008 Rheingau
Really lovely lemony fruit on the nose. Quite broad with some
herby depth to the lemony fruit. Some sweethess and depth. Fresh and
rich at the same time. 91/100
Prinz von Hessen Winkeler Hasensprung
Riesling Auslese 1992 Rheingau
11% alcohol. Lemon, apricot and herb nose: quite rich but with
some freshness. The palate has a tangy, pithy edge to the sweet
fruit. Some waxy, lanolin notes, too. 89/100
Prinz
von Hessen Winkeler Hasensprung Riesling Beerenauslese 2006 Rheingau
7.5% alcohol. Pure lime cordial nose with a subtle honey note.
The palate has a sweet syrupy honeyed character and pure peach fruit
notes. 91/100
Prinz
von Hessen Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Beerenauslese 1994 Rheingau
Rich apricot, honey and barley sugar nose. The palate is
concentrated and intense with lovely richness. Thick textured, sweet
and spicy with marmalade and bright fruity notes. 91/100
See
also:
 Visiting
Germany's vineyards
Wines
tasted 09/09
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
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